Bath City Council commissioning studies to survey the condition of the mines. It was clear that the mines were in very unstable condition, and some experts considered them to be the largest, shallowest and most unstable of their kind in Europe. Mine and environmental survey An underground survey of the Firs and Byfield mine areas was carried out in 1994, commissioned by Bath City Council. It was found that approximately 80% of the mines had less than 6 m cover, reducing to 2 m in some places. Irregular mining and robbing stone from supporting pillars had left the mines unstable. An Environmental Impact Assessment was completed for the stabilisation scheme and submitted to the Local Planning Authority in December 2002. This highlighted that the mine is within the World Heritage Site of the City of Bath; adjacent to the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB); within a conservation area, containing a number of listed buildings; a Site of Special Scientific Interest; a candidate Special Area of Conservation; of international importance for Greater and Lesser Horseshoe bats; and of international geological importance, partly due to the work of William Smith. During the access and emergency works, Oxford Archaeology produced large scale plans of visible areas and substantial photography was carried out as the modern roadways allowed access. There were also trials of video photography and laser scanning, so that a substantial record was produced of some 20% of the known workings. The mine also lies above a Grade 1 aquifer from which water for public and private use is extracted via the springs that issue at the base of these units, in particular at the Prior Park, Whittaker and Tucking Mill springs. Mine stabilisation project In March 1999, the then Department of Environment, Transport and Regions (DETR) announced a Land Stabilisation Programme, based on the Derelict Land Act 1982. This was designed to "deal with abandoned non-coal mine workings which are likely to collapse and threaten life and property". A Bath and North East Somerset Council outline bid for a two-phase stabilisation project was accepted in August 1999, by English Partnerships who administered the programme for the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. A parliamentary Statutory Instrument (2002 No. 2053) was needed before the work could be undertaken. Approximately 760 properties were included within the planning application boundary; estimates were that ca. 1660 people lived within this area, which